“Okay.” He had her attention. “What’s it about? And why couldn’t his ass come and see me himself?”
“He’s in town,” she said. “But he’s in hiding.”
“Why’s he hiding?”
“There was an attack on the head of the Arvanatti crime syndicate early this morning,” Malcolm said.
“The head? What head? I thought after Dolphus got his ass killed Lolo said the new head of that family wasn’t decided yet. He said his ass was too old to take it on, but he didn’t decide who would take it on.”
“That changed a few months ago,” said Malcolm. “That’s the thing.”
Reno was puzzled. “What’s the thing?”
Malcolm took a deep breath. “The head of the Arvanatti Crime Family is Dommi.”
Reno just sat there. He couldn’t even wrap his brain around what Mal had just said to him. “What?”
“Dommi is the head of the--”
“I heard your ass the first time! But what Dommi? You can’t meanmyson.”
“It’s your son, Boss.”
Reno frowned. “What are you talking? Dommi’s the sheriff of ---.”
“That’s his cover, yes sir,” said Kasi.
“What cover? I was there when he decided to take that position.”
“It didn’t start out as his cover,” said Malcolm. “But it became his cover when Dolph died and they needed a new leader. They wanted somebody with instant credibility. They knew the Gabrini name was that instant credibility. And they knew Dommi used to work for Mick Sinatra. That’s why they recruited him heavily.”
Reno was stunned. Utterly aghast. Was this why Trina and Jimmy kept urging him to call Dom? But it couldn’t be. They wouldn’t keep something that monumental from him. Or would they? Sometimes he felt as if he was surrounded by secrets and lies.
But why were they there? And why was Lolo in hiding? “You said there was an attack. What’s happened?” he asked them.
Kasi looked at Malcolm.
“What is it?” Reno asked in his softest voice yet. It was as if he was afraid of the answer. “Is my son alright?”
“A rival family,” Malcolm said, “snatched Dom before day this morning.”
Reno jumped up so fast his chair fell backwards. It was the very reason he didn’t want any of his children anywhere near that life. “What rival family?” he asked anxiously. “Have you heard from Dommi?”
“Yes, he’s okay. They called.”
“What about Mariah and the baby?
“She’s fine,” said Kasi. “They killed the two live-in capos at Dom’s house, so even before we heard from them we sent a detail from Jersey to Vegas to stay with Mariah and the baby until this is settled.”
“Vegas? She and the baby are in Vegas?”
Kasi looked at Malcolm puzzled.
“Boss, Dom and Mariah tried to work it out, but it didn’t work out. She took the baby and came back to Vegas months ago. I think it was right around the time he became the head of that family. She didn’t want that life.”
Reno knew it was an indictment against him that he didn’t know his own grandchild was in town, but Mariah wasn’t crazy about having that grandchild around him either. Like he was poison too. Which, he knew, he was. “What’s their demand?” he asked Kasi.
“No police involvement for one.”
